Compare two places
Pick where you are now, where you're considering and a job. We show what you'd keep in each place after taxes, rent and everyday costs, side by side, for any two cities or states.
Results
A typical worker keeps $18,198 more a year in Austin than in Los Angeles.
- Typical salary
- $55,850
- Federal income tax
- −$4,522
- Payroll taxes
- −$4,999
- State income tax
- −$1,400
- Rent, 1-bedroom
- −$30,696
- Everyday costs
- −$20,674
a year ($537 a month)
- Typical salary
- $56,950
- Federal income tax
- −$4,654
- Payroll taxes
- −$4,357
- State income tax
- $0
- Rent, 1-bedroom
- −$19,608
- Everyday costs
- −$16,574
a year, or $980 a month
Line by line
A year unless noted. Difference: Austin minus Los Angeles.
| Los Angeles, CA | Austin, TX | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salary | $55,850 | $56,950 | $1,100 more |
| Federal income tax | $4,522 | $4,654 | $132 more |
| Payroll taxes | $4,999 | $4,357 | $642 less |
| State income tax | $1,400 | $0 | $1,400 less |
| Rent, 1-bedroom | $30,696 | $19,608 | $11,088 less |
| Everyday costs | $20,674 | $16,574 | $4,100 less |
| What you keep, a year | −$6,441 | $11,757 | $18,198 more |
| What you keep, a month | −$537 | $980 | $1,517 more |
Popular moves
Full comparisons for the moves people search for most.
- Los Angeles to Las Vegas
- Los Angeles to Austin
- Houston to Dallas
- San Francisco to Austin
- Los Angeles to Phoenix
- San Diego to Phoenix
- San Francisco to Sacramento
- Boston to Raleigh
- Chicago to Indianapolis
- Chicago to Nashville
- Philadelphia to Charlotte
- Portland to Boise
- New York to Raleigh
- Minneapolis to Phoenix
- New York to Charlotte
- Denver to Phoenix
- Seattle to Boise
- Atlanta to Nashville
- New York to Tampa
- Washington to Richmond
Questions people ask
What does the comparison include?
For each place: the job's pay from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, federal, payroll, state and local income taxes for a single filer, HUD's fair market rent for a 1-bedroom home, and everyday costs (food, transportation, healthcare and utilities) adjusted for local prices. What's left is what you keep.
Can I compare a city with a whole state?
Yes. Pick State on either side. A state uses statewide pay, the statewide average 1-bedroom rent and statewide everyday costs, with state taxes and no city income tax, the same figures as our salary pages.
How is my salary converted to the other place?
Enter your salary where you are now and we scale it by how pay for your job differs between the two places at the pay level you chose. If you earn the 25th-percentile wage in one city, you get the 25th-percentile wage in the other. Tick “Same salary in both places” to keep it unchanged, for example if you'll work remotely.
Why is pay the same in two cities?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes wages by metro area, so two cities in one metro area, such as Dallas and Fort Worth, share the same pay figures. The difference between them comes from rent and local taxes.
Sources and method
Cities use metro pay (BLS OEWS), the city's own rent (HUD Small Area FMRs) and local income tax where one applies. States use statewide pay, county rents weighted by population, and no city income tax. Everyday costs are BLS spending for one person, at today's prices and local price levels (BEA).
- BLS OEWS May 2025, metropolitan area estimates
- HUD Small Area Fair Market Rents, FY2027
- BLS Consumer Expenditure Surveys 2024, Table 1400 (size of consumer unit)
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI-U)
- BEA Regional Price Parities by MSA, 2024
- BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
- HUD Fair Market Rents, FY2027
- BEA Regional Price Parities by state, 2024
Data compiled October 13, 2026. How we calculate